guilty

B1 Topic:Crime & Justice

US /ˈɡɪl.ti/ See IPA manual

Freq #1197

Meanings

1

adj
Having done something wrong or broken the law.

The court found him guilty of theft.
2

adj
Feeling ashamed because you have done something wrong.

I felt guilty about lying to my parents.
3

adj
Showing that you feel ashamed or have done wrong.

He gave me a guilty look when I caught him.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · having done something wrong... culpable

3 adj · showing that you feel... hangdog

More blameworthy censurable nocent reprehensibleshildy

Opposites

innocent praiseworthy

Word family

Forms guiltierguiltiest

Derived forms beguiltybloodguiltyguiltily guiltinessguiltylikeinguiltynonguiltyunguilty

Related forms peccable unguilty

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

Etymology

From Middle English gilty, gulty, from Old English gyltiġ (“offending, guilty”); equivalent to guilt + -y.

gilty Middle English gyltiġ Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Crime & Justice

External links

# guilty

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈɡɪl.ti/
**Frequency rank:** 1197

## Meanings
1. Having done something wrong or broken the law.
2. Feeling ashamed because you have done something wrong.
3. Showing that you feel ashamed or have done wrong.

## Examples
- The court found him guilty of theft.
- I felt guilty about lying to my parents.
- He gave me a guilty look when I caught him.

## Synonyms
- blameworthy
- censurable
- culpable
- nocent
- reprehensible
- shildy

## Antonyms
- innocent
- praiseworthy

## Derived Forms
- beguilty
- bloodguilty
- guiltily
- guiltiness
- guiltylike
- inguilty
- nonguilty
- unguilty

## Related Forms
- peccable
- unguilty

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: gilty
- Root: gyltiġ

## Etymology
From Middle English gilty, gulty, from Old English gyltiġ (“offending, guilty”); equivalent to guilt + -y.

## AI Etymology
Guilty comes from Middle English gilty, gulty, from Old English gyltiġ (“offending, guilty”); equivalent to guilt + -y. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern adjectival form is built from the named base and affix. In current use, the main senses are “Having done something wrong or broken the law” and “Feeling ashamed because you have done something wrong”.

## Topics
- Crime & Justice

markdown